England thrill to crush Wales

England put last year's humbling in Cardiff to rest with an assured performance in their 29-18 victory over Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.

It First-half tries from Danny Care and Luther Burrell gave England the early advantage and they never looked back, keeping the lead throughout as Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny fought each other in a world-class kicking duel.

There is no longer any doubt though;  Wales are not the best team in Europe anymore.  Bar their breakdown prowess, which was exceptional, crucial failures at key times in the scrum, line-out and defence brought the two-time champions title defence to an end.

Had it not been for soft penalties conceded by England in the opening 40 then the scoreline would have read even less in Wales' favour.  Against Scotland there is now an opportunity for Warren Gatland to experiment.

For England it was all about progress.  Even had they lost, which they should never have done based on their performance in the first-half, there were enough encouraging moments to keep believing that they are still building towards next year.

The likes of Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes and Owen Farrell have all stepped up a level and in doing so secured England's first Triple Crown since 2003.

England's opening break came from the most unlikely of sources;  David Wilson cantering into space and laying the platform for Care to eventually catch Wales off guard with a trademark tap penalty.

Starting the match at a million miles an hour had Wales napping, but England's ambition then became over-exuberance.  Attempting to play out of their own 22, Wales won a penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to slot over from out on the right.

Wales were nervy.  The small parts of their game, tiny knock-ons included, were a hindrance.

Jonathan Davies' pass to George North went just behind him — had it gone to hand then England would have been in trouble.  North still had a chance with a grubber only to watch it roll dead.

It was England's turn now to win a penalty at the scrum, Richard Hibbard popping up to allow Farrell to restore the home side's seven-point advantage.

Jonny May then embarked on one of his cross-field runs.  Even the Gloucester wing admits he doesn't always know where his breaks will take him, but when isolated over on the far side — after some brilliant tracking defence from Jamie Roberts — Wales won the penalty at the breakdown for Halfpenny to kick his second three-pointer.

England's attack however kept Wales working, the likes of Sam Warburton racking up tackles but a discrepancy was never far away.  Farrell added another penalty to restore that seven-point gap — 13-6 to England coming up to the half hour.

There was sparkle from Wales thanks to a burst from Roberts into space, but the breakdown remained their main source of points.  Nowell ran into the same lair that scuppered May moments earlier, Wales too savvy in that area to let a chance slip as another penalty followed from Halfpenny.  He never looked like missing.

Billy Twelvetrees then displayed a similarly perfect touch with the boot.  Farrell's kick had pinned Wales back into a corner and when Warburton failed to reel in the ball at the line-out, England pounced.  The grubber from Twelvetrees bounced up kindly for Burrell to score his third try in four games.

Halfpenny still couldn't miss, adding two more penalties before half-time arrived to leave Wales five points adrift at the break.

England though now controlled the scrum.  Consecutive penalties pushed the hosts from within their 22 to a 30-metre shot at goal for Farrell which put England 23-15 ahead.

Wales were chasing, and not very well.  First, a horrendous kick from Roberts killed an overlap on the outside from which Wales should have scored.  Then they lost Gethin Jenkins to the bin on his 104th cap, something referee Romain Poite looked to have been itching to do for some time.

Halfpenny countered Farrell's fourth penalty with his seventh, but Wales were again penalised for Farrell to keep the champions at arm's length at 29-18.

It took Wales until the 61st minute to replace struggling Rhys Priestland.  His game management paled sorely in comparison to that of Farrell, who continually appeared to thread kicks into the corners.

With the likes of Mike Phillips, Dan Biggar and Paul James now on Wales had a jolt of intensity, a reminder for England that the job was not yet done.

A break from turnover ball deep in England's half nearly ended in a second try for Burrell, Halfpenny doing enough to keep him out with a try-saving tackle that saw him depart with an injury.

There was no time though for Wales to respond.  Instead an ecstatic Twickenham crowd savoured the closing minutes, with the side now heading to Rome hoping for a favour off France and with their title hopes still alive.  For Wales, there are more questions than answers.

Man of the Match:  With a barn-storming afternoon filled with huge tackles and some impressive carries, Courtney Lawes stood taller than anyone else.  This though was a team effort.

Moment of the Match:  The fastest start.  England flew out of the blocks and with Wales bewildered, Danny Care made them pay to give them the lead.

Villian of the Match:  Refereeing interpretations at the scrum are always up for debate but after Gethin Jenkins had already been warned, he should either have been brought off or adjusted.  From the moment he went to the bin the result was settled.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Care, Burrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 5

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny 6
Yellow Card:  Jenkins

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Alex Goode

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jon Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Liam Williams

Referee:  Romain Poite (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Steve Walsh (Aus), Lourens van der Merwe (RSA)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ire)

France edge out Scotland

Jean-Marc Doussain kicked a 78th minute penalty to see France claim a 19-17 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.

It The Scots had led through tries from Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour to three Maxime Machenaud penalties, before Yoann Huget's interception brought France roaring back into the lead.

A long-range Duncan Weir three-pointer renewed the hosts' belief, but it was Doussain's effort inside the 22 that dealt Scott Johnson's men a gut-wrenching finale.

Kiwi referee Chris Pollock is traditionally strict on the defensive team at the breakdown, and the words "no clear release" crackled over his microphone time and again as players piled into rucks.  The New Zealander may require a police presence at his city-centre hotel this evening, however, after he penalised Scotland's Tim Swinson — predictably for the same offence — for Doussain's decisive kick.

Scotland's line-out woes are painfully well-documented, but it was the French who lost their way in the aerial duel.  Third-choice hooker Brice Mach missed his man on seven from ten occasions before being substituted early in the second half.

Up front, the scrums were a mess.  Pollock dished out instructions aplenty, but time-consuming resets were the norm on the scrappy Murrayfield turf.  The signs were ominous for the Scots as their first set-piece crashed to ground ninety seconds into the match, allowing Maxime Machenaud the chance to open to the scores with a well-taken penalty.

The hosts were let off the hook minutes later too;  a Scott Lawson knock-on sparked a sweeping sixty-metre counter-attack from les Bleus, with Maxime Mermoz scragged metres short of the line.  A try eluded the visitors, but the pressure yielded a second penalty for the scrum-half.

Despite the early scoreline, the Scots were enjoying the bulk of possession, building phases well inside the French half.  And after Jim Hamilton charged down Machenaud on the visitors' 22, Hogg hoisted a speculative hanging kick deep into the gaping Murrayfield in-goal area.  Under pressure from Sean Lamont, the ball was fumbled by Huget, allowing the full-back to pounce and ground somewhat dubiously for one the more bizarre tries the famous old ground has seen in recent years.  Greig Laidlaw knocked over the extras, and suddenly the hosts were in the lead.

Straight from the kick-off, however, Dave Denton lost the ball in contact on his own 22;  the French gathered and pounded the line.  The way the Scots repelled the advances of the visitors was admirable, but Hamilton was eventually penalised in the shadow of his own posts.  Machenaud kicked France ahead again, while the stretcher was driven on and carted off again carrying Johnnie Beattie — who had taken a knock during the move — with it.  Ryan Wilson replaced the blindside flanker.

That didn't faze Scotland, as they drove their way into the French 22 once more, and produced an uncharacteristically astute piece of backline play to cross the line again.  With a flash of zip more associated with their opponents, Matt Scott caught out the drifting blindside defence with a delightful inside ball to the onrushing Seymour.  The winger scythed through the gap and dived over in the corner;  Laidlaw slotted a fine conversion, and Johnson's charges began to believe.

The visitors continued to look dangerous when presented with turnover ball or loose touchfinders, though;  Hogg's attempted drop goal almost leading to a Serge Blanco-esque counter from Brice Dulin under his own posts.

Hamilton was — perhaps harshly — pinged for his over-exuberant infiltration of a collapsed French maul on half-time, but Machenaud was wide with his fourth penalty attempt, leaving the Scots five points to the good at the break.

What they did next was typical of this side's maddening tendency to shoot themselves in the foot.  In truth, it was terribly Scottish.  The hosts had disrupted a French maul on the five-metre line so effectively as to steal back possession;  the ball was swept left, the overlap was there, the supporters were already cheering try number three.

But Duncan Weir, with any number of options outside him, floated his pass to the one place it would not find a white jersey.  Huget, gambling to nothing, picked it off and sprinted eighty metres to score untouched.  Machenaud knocked over the simple conversion.

The Scots should have been shellshocked;  the game should have turned in a flash.  But Johnson's men showed a resolve and indeed accuracy they have seldom displayed in this Championship.  Play opened up and became more fragmented;  a development that should have favoured the French, but appeared to suit the Scots' desire to give the ball some air when they could.

Trailing by two points, Laidlaw's near-fifty-metre penalty attempt fell agonisingly under the crossbar, but when the French infringed again in the same area, it was Weir who had a chance to make amends for his earlier interception.  The Glasgow Warriors pivot showed great character to step up and drill his kick over.

As the French error count grew, so did the confidence of the home crowd, the mood in the stands very audibly shifting from disbelief to bullishness as a series of French scrums thirty-five metres out yielded nothing but a Scottish put-in, and Mermoz spurned a fine attacking opportunity on the Scottish 22 by spilling the ball.

Another scrum penalty just shy of halfway offered Weir the chance to take the gap beyond the crucial three point margin with five minutes remaining, but the fly-half could not repeat his goal-kicking heroics, pushing his effort just wide of the uprights.

It would be terribly cruel to lay blame for the loss at the door of the 22-year-old, but his interception pass combined with that difficult miss left the gap at two points as the clocked ticked by.  With a minute left, the Scottish dream turned nightmarish as Pollock blew up metres from the home line.  Doussain did not wilt under the defeaning racket of 60,000 enraged Scots, and so shattered their team's chances of a first win over France since 2006.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of candidates, but Hogg gets the nod for his vision in attack, and booming boot that frequently kept the Scots out of their own half.

Moment of the Match:  Huget's try should have been seminal, but it was Doussain's penalty that was the ultimate difference.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing sinister to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Huget
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Machenaud 3, Doussain

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Seymour
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Weir

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Johnnie Beattie, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Moray Low, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  18 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Antoine Claassen, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Remi Tálès, 23 Gaël Fickou

Referee:  Chris Pollock (NZ)

Ireland brush Italy aside

Ireland have built a healthy lead at the top of the Six Nations standings thanks to a 46-7 victory over Italy at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

It In Brian O'Driscoll's final Test on home soil, the men in green outscored their visitors seven tries to one to further bolster their points difference ahead on next weekend's trip to Paris.

A brace from Jonny Sexton, combined with tries from Cian Healy, Sean Cronin, Fergus McFadden and Jack McGrath saw a focused Ireland overcome a robust Italian side on an emotional day for Irish rugby.

The visitors had given Ireland an early scare with an excellent try by wing Leonardo Sarto, converted by Luciano Orquera, but were unable to spoil the Irish party.

O'Driscoll was phenomenal in his final home game, and gave Irish fans a reminder of the sublime skill they'll miss next season.  But his team-mates deserve immense credit for giving the icon the Dublin send off he deserves.

Ireland made the livelier start, holding onto the ball through several phases.  The host showed an admirable intent to move the ball early on.

The hosts dominated possession in the opening five minutes, but the Azzurri defence was pretty resolute.  The man of the moment ignited proceedings on six minutes when a lovely wrap around from O'Driscoll to Sexton carved open the Italian defence for the Irish fly-half to touch down.  Sexton converted to make it 7-0.

The visitors responded well, though, with Orquera orchestrating some good handling in midfield.  The men in blue were finding some holes in Ireland's much vaunted defence.  Tito Tebaldi was also finding some space for his outside backs from the scrum-half channel.

The hosts regrouped, however, and gained some continuity in their opponents' half, but were undone by basic errors.  Ireland's cause was also not helped when Conor Murray was forced to exit the field on 16 minutes.

There was a feeling that Ireland were the superior side, but they just couldn't break down the tenacious visitors.  And the Azzurri got a thoroughly deserved reward on 24 minutes when Sarto scored a well-taken try having evaded Rob Kearney's desperate covering tackle.  Oquera converted to equalise the score at 7-7.

But Sexton restored Ireland's lead on 31 minutes to settle his side's nerves.  It was the least the hosts deserved following a period of concerted pressure.  But again Luke McLean was finding unexpected holes in Ireland's defensive line.

It was their great centre that initiated Ireland's breakthrough on 36 minutes when a superb pass put Trimble away in the corner.  Sexton duly added the extras to make it 17-7 to the Emerald Isle.

Although the game had become quite unstructured at times, by half time Ireland were starting to achieve some ascendancy over their stubborn opponents.

The second half began with Ireland clearly determined to break the shackles.  A fracas on 47 minutes involving captains Paul O'Connell and Marco Bortolami demonstrated the way in which the physicality on display from both sides was always threatening to spill over.  In the first five minutes of the half, the hosts were essentially camped in the Italian half.

And prop Healy deservedly got over the whitewash for the men in green on 52 minutes when Eoin Reddan tapped and went from a five-metre penalty.  Once the ball went to ground, Healy picked up, and crashed over the line.  It was to be the loosehead's final act of the match.  Sexton missed the conversion, however.

The game began to loosen up thereafter, with Ireland's backs finding some welcome space.  The brilliant O'Driscoll was undoubtedly at the centre of everything his team did well, and it was his pass that fed Rob Kearney, who in turn put Sexton over for his second try on 59 minutes.  The Irish ten missed another conversion to leave it 27-7.

The ovation was completely deafening when O'Driscoll left the field on 62 minutes, his job having been superbly done.  Substitute hooker Sean Cronin added to the home tally on 68 minutes when he barged over in the left hand corner.  Replacement Paddy Jackson converted to make it 34-7.

Italy tried to regain a foothold in the game, but lacked the incision to threaten the Irish defence.

Fergus McFadden got in on the act on 77 minutes, when he sliced through the Azzurri midfield to score with adding the extras.

And an evocative occasion was rounded off appropriately, when replacement prop Jack McGrath crashed off for his first try for his country to complete the rout.

Following a resonant day for Irish sport, Ireland and O'Driscoll head to Paris for a tilt at the championship.  On this form, anything is possible.

Man of the Match:  Who else?  His former Leinster teammate Sexton pushed him close, but Brian O'Driscoll was simply outstanding on his final Irish outing at the Aviva Stadium.  His passing was sublime, while the centre's work-rate was the equal of anyone else on the pitch.  Brilliant performance.

Moment of the Match:  O'Driscoll's lovely switch with Sexton to set up the fly-half's opening try exemplifies everything that defines the great centre's brilliance.  It could have been a score from ten years ago, as O'Driscoll's creativity and intelligence unlocked a Six Nations defence.

Villain of the Match:  No villains as both sides gave their all in a compelling contest.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:Sexton 2, Trimble, Healy, Cronin, McFadden, McGrath
Cons:  Sexton 2, Jackson 2
Pen:  Sexton,

For Italy:
Try:  Sarto
Con:  Orquera

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami (c), 4 Quentin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto de Marchi.
Replacements:  16 David Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Andrea Masi.

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)

England crush Ireland's Slam dream

A cagey, physical confrontation between two title contenders ended with a 13-10 victory for England in an entertaining Test at Twickenham.

It Ireland arrived bursting with confidence but were more or less contained in the opening half, as England failed to capitalise on territory and possession.

Closer to a game of chess, the tension in both team's performances was impossible to ignore.  This was Ireland's first trip away from Dublin in the Joe Schmidt era and they met their match in the contests regarding aggression and skill.

For Ireland the dream of a second Grand Slam in five years is over.  England's title hopes are alive.  The hosts' young warriors — Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Jack Nowell — played beyond their years.

England's start was bright, showing composure and patience beyond the number of their caps as Mike Brown slipped out of Rory Best's tackle to put them on the front foot.

It should have ended in a score, yet didn't.  Jonny May, with Jack Nowell outside, knocked on thanks to a timely tackle from Andrew Trimble to hand Ireland an early reprieve.

England's early aggression was noteworthy but the penalties went Ireland's way, first at the scrum and then at the breakdown to end dominant England phases in the Irish half.

Ireland's attack though was in full flow when Jonathan Sexton wasn't under siege — sending a cross-field kick over into the bread basket of Andrew Trimble before England regathered to snuff out the threat.

Owen Farrell avoided further punishment for a late hit on Conor Murray than a penalty — the game entering the second quarter without any points but proving entertaining nonetheless.

When Courtney Lawes was taken out at the lineout Farrell landed England's first points with a 47-metre penalty.  Far from the finest of strikes, on the basis of the opening 25 minutes England probably deserved their lead.

And though they may have led on the scoreboard the game was poised on a knife-edge.  A second Farrell penalty would have let England breathe a little easier, only for the wind to swirl it onto the left post.

The loss of Billy Vunipola was a further blow to England's chances as Ireland searched for some continuity in their game, but the dominance shown against Wales had deserted them.  Too often fine pieces of play were cut short by minor errors.

A careless offside from Andrew Trimble saw Farrell pop the ball into the corner as England looked to make a statement before half-time.  It wasn't to be as Ireland forced the knock-on from Burrell, Sexton clearing to touch with England narrowly ahead 3-0 at the interval.

Ireland began the second period with the necessary bang.  Rob Kearney screamed through a gaping hole on an inside ball that left even Irish fans in the ground in disbelief, such was its simplicity.  A slip from England and the lead was all Ireland's now.

England momentarily were thrown.  Persistent penalties marched Ireland from their own 22 to deep into English territory, Sexton's astute chip forcing May and Brown into sixes and sevens.

It was a period of pure control reminiscent of the 80 minutes Ireland produced against Wales, and it ended with a score — Sexton's three-pointer stretching the lead to 3-10.

Score again and Ireland might have never looked back, but England now had the impetus.  Danny Care's high-risk philosophy worked for them in Paris and they added a second penalty from Farrell to cut the gap to four.

They then split Ireland open up the middle.  Brown's break on an inside ball from Chris Robshaw saw him fly into open space, having the composure and timing in his pass to release Care for a try made at Harlequins and sending England back ahead.

Equals more or less throughout, England's 13-10 lead heading into the final ten minutes never fully looked secure.

Ireland built phases and tried to twist and turn England's defence in search of an opening, but there simply wasn't one to exploit.  Joe Launchbury's tap tackle was a lifesaver — Jonny May's clearance made the whole of Twickenham erupt.

Naturally Ireland still had a chance, as Brian O'Driscoll limped from the field in his 139th record-equalling Test.  It wasn't to be, the Irish maul for brought to a shuddering halt as England came of age.

Man of the Match:  Care was influential but Mike Brown was truly exceptional for England, a running threat as ever and kicking brilliantly.

Moment of the Match:  England's try was enormous, coming right off the back of Farrell's penalty.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Care
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2

For Ireland:
Try:  R.Kearney
Con:  Sexton
Pen:  Sexton

For England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 David Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 George Ford, 23 Brad Barritt

For Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Issac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Weir sinks Italy in Rome thriller

A last-minute Duncan Weir drop-goal secured a vital 21-20 Six Nations victory for Scotland over Italy at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

It With the clock creeping towards 80 minutes, Weir stepped up to banish the demons from Round Two's English horror show, and perhaps go some way to answering those who question his character and execution when the chips are down.

A brace of penalties and an opportunistic converted try from ex-Scotland U20 cap Tommaso Allan had given the Italians a commanding 13-3 lead at half-time, before Alex Dunbar crossed to bring Scotland back into the game.  Dunbar bagged his second to turn the match on its head, but Italy hit back immediately through a well-taken Josh Furno try, before Weir's late strike.

Games involving Scotland and Italy are not generally filed under the heading marked "classic", but despite the play often becoming fragmented — punctuated by errors and infringements as players struggled to match their ambition with accuracy — it was appetising fare for the neutral.

After a dull first half, we were treated to three quality tries, excitement and a thrilling finale as the lead changed hands time and again in the final stages.

The Scots completed the basic skills with far more precision than in Rounds One and Two, but typically struggled to perform them well under pressure until late in the game.

Their lineout that misfired chronically against Ireland and England was a different beast in Rome;  Jim Hamilton marking the card of Azzurri hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini early on, and the calls running smoothly with Scott Lawson's throwing.

But though the Scots ruled the skies, the scrummage proved a real worry for the visitors — they conceded a penalty at each of the opening three set-pieces as Moray Low toiled and buckled under the pressure.  The Glasgow Warriors tighthead was withdrawn before half-time.

Allan opened the scoring for the hosts after a rare first half foray into the Scottish 22;  Ryan Wilson straying offside before the move broke down metres from the line.

Skipper Greig Laidlaw levelled things up for the Scots shortly after, before Allan miscued a chance to restore his side's lead when a monstrous Italian scrummage splintered the visiting eight.

Scotland missed a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock as Weir burst clear up the left-hand-side following a turnover, but in a very Scottish display of profligacy, failed to release Sean Lamont, his completion on this occasion letting him down when it mattered.

With the penalty count rising rapidly against the visitors, referee Steve Walsh warned Laidlaw further breakdown offences would result in sterner punishment, and Allan made no mistake with his third attempt to nudge Italy ahead once more on the half hour mark.

And it was the pivot himself who struck a huge blow for the hosts right on half-time.  With Sergio Parisse carrying strongly into the away 22, Allan picked a smart line to scythe through the disorganised Scottish defence and burrow over for a five-pointer.  He added the simple conversion and sent Italy into the changing rooms with a ten-point lead.

The Scots began the second forty in similar fashion to the first — bags of endeavour, little exactitude.  They were rewarded with a Laidlaw penalty five minutes in, and then turned down a second chance for three points after exerting huge pressure on the Italian line.

It looked like the opportunity had been wasted as Laidlaw's quick tap eventually went to ground.  But Scotland won the ball back on the ten-metre line, and swift hands saw Dunbar cut through some haphazard midfield defence and outpace Allan to the corner.  The captain pulled his conversion from out wide.

With the gap cut to two points, Scotland grew in confidence, and mixed up their attack well to breach the home 22.  With twelve minutes to go, they produced the play of the game.  Lamont barrelled over halfway off first-phase ball, and offloaded to replacement Chris Cusiter who brilliantly flicked the ball to the onrushing Dunbar.  With Matt Scott in support, Dunbar took on Luke McLean and scrambled beyond the despairing defence to finish.  With Laidlaw substituted, Weir knocked over the conversion from straight in front.

But Italy were not done.  After poor defence allowed Leonardo Sarto to worm his way through midfield, the Azzurri stormed into the Scottish 22.  Shifting play smartly, they stretched the visitors from side to side, before Parisse exploited space and support to send Furno crashing over to level the scores once again.  Replacement Luciano Orquera's nerve held from out wide, and the Italians reclaimed the lead.

That set up a truly enthralling finish.  Scotland inched their way forward as time ticked away, and after Dave Denton rescued a scrappy scrum ball, Weir let fly a booming effort under Italian pressure to send the Scots wild, and ease the tension on boss Scott Johnson.

Man of the Match:  Alex Dunbar was the pick of the bunch;  a constant threat to the Italian defence, he scored two excellent tries.

Moment of the Match:  Duncan Weir's drop, a moment epitomising why we love sport.

Villain of the Match:  A really tough day at the office for Moray Low, who was turned inside out in the tight for 38 minutes before being unceremoniously "hooked".

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Allan, Furno
Cons:  Allan, Orquera
Pens:  Allan 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Dunbar 2
Con:  Weir
Pen:  Laidlaw
Drop:  Weir

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Paul Derbyshire, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Dave Denton, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Max Evans

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Aus)
Assistant referees:  Jerome Garces (Fra), Luke Pearce (Eng)
TMO:  Geoff Warren (Eng)

Wales keep title hopes alive

Wales are still alive in the 2014 Six Nations title race thanks to a 27-6 victory over France at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.

It The defending champions bounced back from a heavy defeat in Dublin with a muscular display, leading from start to finish and outscoring their visitors two tries to none.

Unlike their performance a fortnight ago, the Welsh pack came to the party, dominating the contact zones and shutting down any and all French attacks.

Wales led 20-6 at the interval thanks to an opportunistic try from George North, five penalties from Leigh Halfpenny, some interesting refereeing from Alain Rolland and a few howlers from Jean-Marc Doussain.

It was a dominant opening 40 minutes from the defending champions, who hardly allowed the French into their 22.

The second-half saw just a single score but skipper Sam Warburton's try sealed the win that reignites Wales' hopes of claiming a third consecutive title.

It took just two minutes for the first points to be scored as Halfpenny found the target from almost 50 metres following a French ruck infringement.

It didn't take much longer for Wales to score the first try either.  It came from a French mistake as Doussain clattered into Brice Dulin, causing the full-back to spill the ball to which he had beaten North in a race back to his line.  The ball bounced free, allowing the Welsh centre to score a soft try.

Surprisingly, Halfpenny missed the conversion but he split the uprights with another long range effort soon afterwards to give the home side an 11-0 lead inside the first ten minutes.

The French scrum would earn the visitors their first points as Doussain landed a simple penalty but referee Rolland thought a slip by Nicolas Mas was worth three points in the other direction at the next set-piece so Wales led 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Doussain's poor form off the kicking tee continued as he missed an absolute sitter.  Jules Plisson took over the kicking duties though and slotted the next one to cut the gap at 14-6.

The pattern of a Welsh reply for every French score continued though and North earned an easy three-pointer for Halfpenny with a crash ball in front of the sticks.

The home side would finish the half on a positive note as Halfpenny added his fifth penalty thanks to the Welsh scrum winning the ball back.  (Despite Doussain noting Rolland's leniency for crooked feeds, he decided to roll it under Richard Hibbard's nose).

Phillipe Saint André saw the light and changed his scrum-half at the interval but France continued to leave points by the wayside as Plisson hooked a long-range effort before an offload from Mathieu Bastareaud was greeted by a knock-on within sight of the line.

The scrum-time lottery saw opposing props Gethin Jenkins and Mas hit the jackpot and win a yellow card each but it did little to abate the flow of penalties in both directions.

The nightmare for les Bleus continued as Louis Picamoles saw yellow before Warburton stretched out an arm to score after a powerful run from Jamie Roberts.

Despite their best efforts, the disjointed French attack failed to seriously threaten the outstanding Welsh defence as the home side closed shop until the final whistle.

Man of the match:  Hard to pick out a single man as the entire Welsh pack deserve a pat on the back.  A mention for Jamie Roberts, who was key to getting Wales going forward, and Rhys Webb, who made a lot of good decisions.  But we'll go for Sam Warbuton, not only for his try and strong performance in the tackle area, but for leading a much-improved effort from the men in red.

Moment of the match:  France found themselves chasing the game almost from the first whistle.  George North's try set Wales on their way, and they never looked back.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North, Warburton
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 5
Yellow card:  Jenkins

For France:
Pens:  Doussain, Plisson
Yellow cards:  Mas, Picamoles

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Jake Ball, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 James Hook.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:16 Brice Mach, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Gael Fickou.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

England thump hapless Scots

Luther Burrell and Mike Brown both scored as England produced a simple 20-0 win over a dreadful Scottish outfit at Murrayfield.

It The pace was not perhaps as frenetic as we have come to expect from Calcutta Cup rugby, but tries from Burrell and the Man of the Match, Brown, were more than enough to secure victory for England in Test rugby's oldest fixture.

England arrived at Murrayfield with a point to prove after their late loss in Paris last week, but the hosts too were seeking a reaction having been blown away in forty minutes by an embattled Ireland side.

Stuart Lancaster's men hadn't lost three successive Tests since 2008;  the same year Scotland last claimed the Calcutta Cup, but this failed to prove an omen as the visitors blitzed their rivals with a combination of speed, precision and aggression.

It was the same maddening problems of old that hindered Scott Johnson's team.

The simple but painful truth is that Scotland cannot hope to play ball with the big boys in the Test rugby playground for as long as they fail to muster any sort of potent attack, consistently win quick ball at the breakdown, eradicate unforced errors, missed tackles and silly penalties, or shore up a set-piece that exerts a crippling influence upon their ability to build phases and threaten their opponents line.

To put things in perspective, they lost almost half of their lineouts versus England's near perfect record, and conceded a total of 16 penalties.

Not for the first time this season, each successful throw-in was greeted with an ironic cheer from the home crowd;  more unsavoury was the audible approval from sixty-thousand Scots as hooker Ross Ford was replaced just after half-time.

The Murrayfield pitch was in arguably its poorest state for decades, with the patches of churned up turf a glaring backdrop to an otherwise fantastic occasion;  on this evidence, the new hybrid surface can't come soon enough.

It was the English pack who made the most of these testing conditions.  They were a step ahead of the Scots at the breakdown as Ireland had been in Dublin, and their line speed was outstanding in the first forty minutes.  The Scots' attack is often static and passive, and its deficiencies were brutally exposed as players found themselves with no time on the ball, and no option but to brace themselves for the oncoming white charge.

The hosts suffered from a lack of accuracy early on as Duncan Weir floated his first kick from hand out on the full under no pressure, and the Scots gathered the ball from an offside position to hand Owen Farrell a simple opportunity for the game's opening points.  The fly-half did take his kick from one of the more pudding-like splotches of mud, but his miss from 25 yards out and straight in front of the posts was glaring nonetheless.

Danny Care got up to his old tricks again minutes later to spare his half-back partner's blushes.  With a penalty advantage being played, and England's maul on the home 22 going nowhere, Care struck his second drop-goal in as many weeks;  having achieved the same feat in Paris a week ago.

Greig Laidlaw was wide with his first of two fruitless attempts on ten minutes;  the scrum-half always likely to struggle into the breeze from over 40 metres.

The penalty count was rising against Scotland at the breakdown, and it was from a Jim Hamilton infringement that yielded the first try of the match.  Farrell booted play up to within ten metres of the Scots' line, and after the pack were held up short, centre Burrell picked a smart line off his fly-half to crash over for his second try in as many games.  This time, Farrell made no mistake from the tee.

Laidlaw had a chance to put Scotland on the board straight from the restart with another penalty effort, but he glanced the left-hand upright from right of centre.

Farrell should have punished Scotland again on 20 minutes after yet another infringement, but dragged effort wide from the 10m line.

That misfiring lineout is a constant bane for Johnson, and when Ford threw over the top of Hamilton, England won the ball and shortly after a penalty.  Farrell converted for a commanding 13-0 lead on the half-hour mark.

It was Farrell who cut through the home defence as England threatened again in the dying moments of the first half, finding Burrell with a smart inside ball.  The centre was held up inches from the line, and the Scots were off the hook with the clock red.

The second-half began in similar fashion;  England breaking the home line with simple rugby executed at pace.  Farrell missed with another penalty effort, but England were soon to win a numerical advantage from their dominance.

Jonny May raced clear down the left-hand-side, and was again halted within a metre of a first international try.  Centre Alex Dunbar clung onto him too long after the tackle, and promptly found himself watching the next ten minutes from a plastic chair on the sidelines.  Still, though, England could not press home their advantage, despite hammering the Scottish line with a series of mauls.

That all changed as the hour mark approached.  A smart runaround move off a lineout on halfway saw the visitors outflank the Scottish midfield defence.  It appeared the chance had gone when Stuart Hogg brought Jack Nowell down on the 22, but the ball found its way back to the winger, who showed good feet and timing of his pass to send full-back Brown round under the posts.

With that, the game was over as a contest, the knockout blow had been struck, and Scotland's aim switched from sending the Auld Enemy homewards tae think again to simply avoiding a second loss to nil on home soil this season.

Johnnie Beattie matched number eight Dave Denton's powerful ball-carrying, but he was one of precious few who consistently made yards against the English defence.

Instead, it was the visitors who continued to press;  Lancaster will in truth be irked that his charges did not rack up more points from their territory and possession in the closing stages.

It was telling that the biggest cheer of the evening was reserved for a kilted pitch-invader who evaded a swarm of stewards as the white jerseys continued to bludgeon their way into the home 22;  halted chiefly by their own errors.

And so it was to finish;  a game England never looked like losing, Lancaster's only gripe the win was not a more handsome one.  Much to ponder for Scott Johnson, but these problems are none he has not been faced with before.

Man of the Match:  The chief contenders for this one were unsurprisingly all in white, with Danny Care and Billy Vunipola in particular picking up where they left off in Paris.  The award was rightly handed to Brown, however, whose kicking was secure, running sharp with a whopping 114m gained, and bagged the try that killed the game.

Moment of the Match:  Brown's try was the killer blow;  silencing the last few spirited, optimistic souls in the home crowd, and

France go two from two

France made it back-to-back victories in the Six Nations Championship as a second-half stampede saw them ease past Italy 30-10 in Paris on Sunday.

It A 9-3 half-time score summed up perfectly what was a dismal opening 40 minutes before the floodgates opened after the break for Les Bleus.

Tries came from Louis Picamoles, Wesley Fofana and Hugo Bonneval while Tommaso Iannone replied three minutes from time for the Azzurri.

A red card apiece for Rabah Slimani and Michele Rizzo for trading headbutts soured what was an otherwise clean contest of Six Nations rugby.

Action now takes a week's break before France go to Wales while Italy host Scotland in what already looks like being the Wooden Spoon decider.

On this second-half form, the French will fancy their chances against a Welsh side that had their confidence shattered against Ireland on Saturday.

It did take a while for France to click into gear though as that aforementioned summation of the first period suggests.  Several missed penalty attempts from both sides meant the game was scoreless until the 27th minute when Jean-Marc Doussain finally found his range following a strong run from full-back Brice Dulin.

France weren't ahead for long however as visiting fly-half Tomasso Allan equalised off the tee a minute later as Dulin was penalised for not retreating behind the back foot of tackled player Alberto De Marchi before contesting at the ruck.  Allan made no mistake to level.

Italy were on top at scrum time at this point but it was to be France's driving maul that did the damage next, with Italy falling into the trap of collapsing it, thus coughing up a further three.

Doussain was again on target just before the break when Joshua Furno was pinged by referee Jaco Peyper for not rolling away, meaning it was a six-point lead for the French.

Whatever coach Philippe Saint-Andre said at the break clearly worked as Les Bleus came out firing, with Picamoles barging over on 43 minutes after TMO confirmation because of possible obstruction by hooker Dimitri Szarzewski off a driving maul fifteen metres out.

And like London buses, the hosts' second arrived soon after when Fofana spotted space on the blindside of a ruck and quickly set off for the right-hand corner, seeing off Luke McLean en route to the try-line.  Doussain was now striking the ball sweetly to make it 23-3.

On 52 minutes the result was put beyond doubt as France scored the pick of their three tries.  It came from a lovely breakout from his own 22 by Fofana, who freed Yoann Huget on the left before the wing fed Bonneval for a debut try.  Doussain's conversion made it 30-3.

The threat of a demolition was now looming in Paris but instead there was a lull before replacements Slimani and Rizzo saw red for respective headbutts, this only a minute after France lock Sebastien Vahaamahina had been yellow carded for throwing the ball away.

The last word would be Italy's though and credit to them for it as wing Iannone finished well, giving them hope ahead of the biggest game of their 2014 Championship on February 22.

Man of the match:  Few would have scored the try that Wesley Fofana did.  His ability to see space before others was evident when he spotted just that on the blindside of a ruck.  Net result, he picked, went and raced over despite the best efforts of covering full-back McLean.

Moment of the match:  When the French aren't playing well, they can always look to Louis Picamoles to get them going forward.  His try to make it 16-3 with the conversion was key.

Villain(s) of the match:  No place for headbutts in rugby.  Michele Rizzo and Rabah Slimani.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Picamoles, Fofana, Bonneval
Con:  Doussain 3
Pen:  Doussain 3
Yellow:  Vahaamahina (70 mins — kicking ball away)
Red:  Slimani (71 mins — headbutt)

For Italy:
Try:  Iannone
Con:  Orquera
Pen:  Allan
Red:  Rizzo (71 mins — headbutt and punch)

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri 4 Pascal Papé (c), 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Gael Fickou.

Italy:15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Iannone, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Alessandro Zanni, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Angelo Esposito.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

Ireland suffocate subdued Wales

Ruthless, clinical and unrelenting, Ireland confirmed their status as title contenders with a convincing 26-3 win over Wales.

It A try from Chris Henry and 14 points from the boot of Jonathan Sexton guided Ireland to victory, a second win in six days and one that was never in doubt.  It looked as though Ireland had enjoyed an extra day's rest between matches, not Wales.

Sexton produced an impressive tactical kicking performance as Ireland controlled territory and the majority of possession throughout.  Joe Schmidt's side were not perfect but they were hugely effective at shutting Wales down across the park.

Ireland's strengths lay in their line-out and aggression at the breakdown, muting Wales into submission as the champions produced an alarming sub-par showing.  Their big players, their leaders — Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and George North — were silent.

At times Wales just looked suffocated, yet to find their top form in this year's competition and now facing an uphill battle to retain their title for a third time.  On the evidence of this, it will not happen.

So much wrongly was made of Brian O'Driscoll facing Warren Gatland for the first time since the Lions — as opposed to focusing on a matchup between two top sides — but it looked as though he would depart after 12 minutes following a monster hit from Scott Williams.  Not to be denied, even at 34, O'Driscoll of course returned to his feet.

This match though was not about O'Driscoll, industrious as he was.  The effort of Ireland's forwards was phenomenal and Peter O'Mahony richly deserved his Man of the Match award.

The Munster captain was a whirlwind at the ruck area and in defence, popping up with an uncanny persistence whenever Wayne Barnes penalised Wales for the umpteenth time.  He epitomised Ireland's effort;  aggressive and uncompromising.

An early knock to Gethin Jenkins caused Wales concern before they embarked on the opening attack, Ireland though surviving the early test with a win at the breakdown from O'Mahony.

Ireland consequently surged back up the field, Dave Kearney making the key burst to put the hosts behind the defence and Sexton scoring the first points of the match with a penalty after Dan Lydiate was penalised.

Persistent penalties haunted Lydiate in the opening quarter, his indiscrepancies resulting in a second Sexton three-pointer.  Wales effectively were killing themselves through indiscipline, and lost Scott Williams to injury before the first 20 minutes was over.

Ireland's breakdown supremacy continued in a match focused more on physicality than slight of hand, with an emphasis on kicking and caution typical of a Northern Hemisphere game with so much on the line.

Seven penalties conceded by Wales after 25 minutes summed up their plight.  A mis-communication for a key attacking line-out adding another line beneath it.

Ireland's five-metre line-out a minute later fared much better — Toner with the take and Henry refusing to be denied as he burrowed his over with a little help from his friends.  Wales were staring down the barrel, 13-0 down after half an hour.

Sexton's first half had been almost flawless but he did miss a penalty from inside his own half at the break, Ireland though remaining ahead with a comfortable advantage.

The Racing Métro number ten might have been unsettled in Paris, but back in the familiar comforts of Dublin he was thriving, adding his third penalty after the interval.

Wales' task at 16-0 down seemed impossible and their hopes of some first points in the 48th minute were snuffed by O'Mahony, whose form over these opening two matches has been exceptional.

It took Wales 56 minutes just to get some points on the board, Leigh Halfpenny striking a penalty won at the scrum.  Sexton responded instantly, the 16-point margin restored and taunting Wales as the match ticked on.

Mike Phillips sought to provide inspiration with a couple of tapped penalties but when Rhodri Jones was pinged for double movement inches from the line it typified Wales' afternoon.

It was to be their last salvo, Ireland grinding down the clock in their visitors' half as they had done all afternoon.

Paddy Jackson's try was a fitting ending, coming from the power of Ireland's maul.  They are very much in contention, raising the possibility of giving O'Driscoll the perfect goodbye.

Man of the Match:  The accolades should flow Peter O'Mahony's way.  Prominent at the breakdown, in defence and at the line-out — he looks like a future captain.

Moment of the Match:  Ireland had enjoyed plenty of possession but only had six points when Chris Henry flopped over for the first try.  It opened the scoreboard up.

Villain of the Match:  The needless handbags from Mike Phillips after Jackson's try summed up his and Wales' frustration.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Henry, Jackson
Cons:  Sexton, Jackson
Pens:  Sexton 4

For Wales:
Pen:  Halfpenny

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Andrew Coombs, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), JP Doyle (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Ireland power past Scots in Dublin

Ireland finished off Round One of the Six Nations with an untroubled 28-6 win over Scotland at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

It The influence of new boss Joe Schmidt was evident in Ireland's play, as straightforward but well-taken tries from Andrew Trimble and stand-in captain Jamie Heaslip saw the hosts build a comfortable lead early in the second-half, before Rob Kearney rounded off proceedings in the final ten minutes.

Two penalties from scrum-half Greig Laidlaw were all Scotland had to show for their efforts, as a solid first-half performance gave way to sloppy defence and a recurrent impotency with ball in hand after the break.

The pre-match build-up was dominated by the news that skipper Paul O'Connell was to miss out thanks to a chest infection, but though Ireland's line-out faltered at times, the Munsterman was scarcely missed.

It was another veteran — Brian O'Driscoll — whose longevity at the forefront of elite rugby was rewarded, as the centre marked his record-breaking Six Nations appearance with a win.

Scotland head coach Scott Johnson had claimed his side would adopt a more expansive game-plan in Dublin, and though they did try and move the ball well, the lack of ruthlessness was clear.  All too often overlaps were created but ignored as the visitors' big ball-carriers looked for contact or offered Duncan Weir a tempting but ineffectual inside ball.  Losing Kiwi convert Sean Maitland to a nasty ankle injury early on did not help, Max Evans replacing him on the wing.

The set-piece was to prove a painfully messy affair.  Ireland dominated the scrummage, with Ross Ford's non-hooking crippling the Scots' attempts to retain possession on their own feed.  Neither side's line-out functioned to the best of its capabilities, with Scotland in particular coughing up ball.  It wasn't a good afternoon for Ford.

The opening exchanges were full of endeavour and physicality, with the breakdown immediately emerging as a terrific contest.  Both sides sought to throw the ball around and attack early on;  Laidlaw hitting the post with a long-range penalty attempt, before the Irish pack mauled their way to within inches of the visitors' line.

The Scottish defence barely held firm, but they found themselves behind minutes later after skipper Kelly Brown was penalised for failing to roll away, Jonny Sexton slotting where Laidlaw had erred.

The scrum-half was soon on target, levelling the scores after a good period of pressure from the Scots;  but Sexton cancelled this out with his second three-pointer.

Scotland continued to dominate both possession and territory, but in typically frustrating style, struggled in vain to breach the whitewash.  Their best opportunity presented itself after a fine piece of spoiling play from the pack handed them a scrum five metres from the Irish line.  It was under heavy pressure, but Dave Denton did well to pick and go before being bundled into touch at the corner by the scrambling Irish back-row and scrum-half Conor Murray.  That was to be the closest the Scots got to a five-pointer all game.

The gritty affair was lit up by a moment of magic from Sexton as half-time approached.  A dummied kick and step inside his own half saw him sear downfield, before releasing Heaslip for a charge to the corner flag with a huge, looping pass.  Evans saved the day with brilliant last-gasp cover tackle to haul Heaslip's feet over the touchline, but the danger was far from over.

Not for the first time, Scotland's line-out faltered under pressure, and from the resultant penalty, the Irish opted for the corner rather than the posts.  This is the sort of decision that has to bear fruit in elite rugby, and though visitors repelled the initial drive well, the ball was spread wide, and Trimble had a simple run-in down the right-hand-side.  Sexton was wide with the conversion, but Ireland held an eight-point lead going into the break.

Scotland enjoyed a similarly energetic start to the second-half, with a Laidlaw penalty cutting the gap to five points.

But the hosts responded in emphatic fashion after making mincemeat of the Scottish scrum once again.  For the second time, Heaslip turned down points in favour of a line-out five metres out, and it was the skipper himself who profited as the Irish pack swiftly rumbled its way over the line.  It was an embarrassingly easy score, and this time, Sexton made no mistake from the tee.

With a 12-point lead now amassed, Ireland looked to choke the final breaths from the Scots.  A further penalty from Sexton took the gap to 15, and Cian Healy backed up his powerful display in the scrum with a bullocking midfield break.

Scotland did their best to build more phases in attack, but failed to produce any sort of danger or penetration.  In contrast, Ireland swept their way forward with eight minutes to play, and full-back Kearney brushed aside a trio of flimsy tackles from away forwards to stretch and score on his 50th cap.  Sexton's final act was to add the extras — Paddy Jackson replacing him — and record-breaker O'Driscoll received a standing ovation as he traipsed off satisfied.

The final moments were unremarkable, dominated by errors and penalties, before Dave Kearney was denied five points with the clock red;  his spectacular dive to ground Jackson's chip ruled out by the TMO.

That late disappointment will swiftly be forgotten in the wake of a comprehensive Irish win, however.  A fine start to Schmidt's Six Nations reign with his side topping the table after Round One;  but a maddeningly familiar story for a Scotland side who never threatened to spring an upset.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Trimble, Heaslip, Kearney
Con:  Sexton 2
Pens:  Sexton 3

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 2

The teams:

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Chris Henry, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Fergus McFadden.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements:  16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Max Evans.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (SA)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (SA), Mike Fraser (NZ)
TMO:  Carlo Damasco (Ita)

France claim incredible Crunch

A 78th-minute try saw France recover to claim a 26-24 victory over England in a breathless Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It What a game!

France led 16-8 at the interval thanks to two early tries from Yoann Huget before Mike Brown scored just before the break to keep England in the contest.

An incredible comeback from England saw a 16-3 advantage for France at the end of the first quarter turn into 16-21 in England's favour going into the final 20 minutes, as Luther Burrell touched down and Danny Care slotted a drop goal.

France produced the best half-hour of the Philippe Saint-André era to start the game but progressively ran out of steam against an England side that went from strength to strength.

It was the home team that would have the last laugh though as a Gael Fickou try at the death sealed a memorable win.

France dominated at scrum time but England will harbour a number of regrets having seen their pack take the game by the scruff of the neck and dominating most of the second half.

It's worth repeating — what a game!

France got off to the perfect start when Huget latched onto a grubber from debutant fly-half Jules Plisson, stepped past the wrong-footed Mike Brown and raced home after just 32 seconds.

Jean-Marc Doussain missed the conversion, Owen Farrell pulled a penalty back for England before Doussain hit the target with his second kick at goal to leave France 8-3 ahead at the end of a frantic opening ten minutes.

The pace didn't slow though as Huget bagged his second try of the first quarter.  The French wing beat a poor tackle from Alex Goode before passing inside to Brice Dulin, whose chip ahead bounced favourably for his flying team-mate.

Again Doussain missed the conversion but found the mark shortly afterwards as France's superiority at scrum time earned a penalty that gave the hosts a 16-3 lead.

England finished the half strongly however, and Brown's try just before the break kept his team alive.  Care took the bold decision to run a very kickable penalty but he linked with Billy Vunipola and Brown beat three defenders, stretching an arm out over the whitewash in the corner.

Farrell missed the conversion but England came out of the dressing room after the interval breathing fire.

Care was denied a try when he was held inches short of the line but Farrell reduced the gap to five points with penalty.

England drew level after Vunipola bust through the French defence for the umpteenth time, offloading to Burrell, who could cruise in under the sticks.

Farrell's conversion gave England the lead for the first time as France's fast start seemed like a distant memory.

A cheeky drop-goal from Care ensured England got something in return for their sustained pressure as the hosts' composure disintegrated.

Maxime Machenaud and Goode traded penalties but although England clearly held the upper hand, they were unable to land the killer blow as Tom Youngs failed to find his jumpers at a five-metre lineout, letting a golden opportunity slip by.

With the game hanging in the balance, Dimitri Szarzewski bolted into space, held his line before finding Fickou, who dummied past Goode to score behind the posts and leave Machenaud with an easy conversion.

Man of the match:  Huget scored two tries and both Yannick Nyanga and Danny Care deserve mentions but we'll go for Billy Vunipola, who went forward every time he got the ball, irrespective of how many defenders were on hand to stop him.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Dimitri Szarzewski's break and pass to Gael Fickou to break English hearts and set up wild celebrations in the French capital.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget 2, Fickou
Cons:  Machenaud
Pens:  Doussain 2, Machenaud

For England:
Tries:  Brown, Burrell
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2, Goode
Drop:  Care

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Pascal Papé (c), 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Damien Chouly, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Gael Fickou

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Brad Barritt, 23 Alex Goode

Venue:  Stade de France, Paris
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Italy push Wales close in opener

Reigning champions Wales saw off a promising Italian side 23-15 thanks to tries from Alex Cuthbert and Scott Williams.

It Italy showed huge improvement from their substandard outings last November, exciting centre Michele Campagnaro grabbing a brace with two opportunistic tries.

History beckons for Wales;  the objective of becoming the first side to complete a hat-trick of consecutive titles has been drilled into their squad over the last few weeks.

This, though, was an unconvincing performance.  Wales worked harder in defence than attack and struggled to sustain phases going forward, although they did control the breakdown.

This is a special group of players without doubt, perhaps whose true destiny will be the Rugby World Cup next year, but they were worryingly flat in the second half.

Italy fielded their most experienced pack in Test history but had three 20-year-olds in the backline, still trying to find that balance between set-piece excellence and exciting back play.  Judging by this game they appear to be leaning towards the latter.

Such was their decline at the back end of 2013 it was easy to forget they defeated both Ireland and France in last year's competition.  Going against tradition, the Italian scrum struggled, but the backs were dangerous and exciting.  Campagnaro at outside centre sparkled.

Two crucial lapses at either end of the first half though were Italy's undoing, highlighting the need for composure as well as plenty of enthusiasm.  Wales are too good to cough those chances up.  The Italian scrum disintegrated, Wales winning the penalties in that area and at the breakdown as the match wore on to secure victory.

Angelo Esposito endured every debutant's nightmare early on, rushing across to cover Rhys Priestland's grubber kick and missing it completely to allow Alex Cuthbert to scoop up and dive over in the corner with only three minutes on the clock.

Italy got on the board thanks to Tommaso Allan's simple penalty in an even opening quarter, Wales' supremacy at the breakdown just handing them the territorial advantage.

Halfpenny's 28th-minute strike opened up a 10-3 lead for the champions but Italy were dogged for large swathes of the first half, keeping the door shut on Wales and working hard to chase their kicks and put the hosts under pressure.

Sergio Parisse couldn't gather Edoardo Gori's clever cross-field kick for what would have been a impressive try as the Azzurri maintained their tenacious start.

It faltered just before the break — Scott Williams releasing Jamie Roberts to bust through Alberto Sgarbi's tackle before receiving the inside ball to go over, handing Wales a comfortable 17-3 cushion.  Italy's energy and enthusiasm had worked against them as Sgarbi leapt out of the defensive line too soon.

Campagnaro bagged an excellent try for his first, his pass to Leonardo Sarto coming under scrutiny from the TMO but he raced after the winger's kick to bring Italy within nine points of the lead.

Italian rugby currently weighs on the shoulders of the 20-year-old Allan and his missed conversion and penalty were vital, particularly when Italy were enjoying the majority of possession.

Wales were left to soak up attacking waves and bide their time, Priestland nearly pouncing with a winding run to the corner only for his pass to find a man in blue rather than red.

Sam Warburton received a rousing reception following his introduction off the bench, political differences put to one side, as the Wales scrum continued to dominate in the eyes of the referee.  It generated a second penalty for Halfpenny, helping Wales breath easier at 20-8.

Halfpenny's breathing was considerably less easy a few minutes later when Campagnaro pounced with an interception try, narrowing the deficit to five.

The Wales full-back though added another penalty — again won by great work from the hosts at the breakdown — to keep the Italians at arm's length.  It was far from a masterclass from Wales, but a job done.

Man of the Match:  With two tries and causing plenty of danger for the Welsh defence, Michele Campagnaro gets the nod for a very impressive performance in midfield.

Moment of the Match:  A pick for Campagnaro again, with his interception of Halfpenny's pass seeing him streak away for a long-range try to narrow the scoreboard late on and leave Wales sweating.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Cuthbert, Williams
Cons:  Halfpenny 2
Pens:  Halfpenny 3

For Italy:
Tries:  Campagnaro 2
Con:  Allan
Pen:  Allan

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas (Wales)

Barbarians hammer Fiji in classic

The Barbarians outclassed Fiji 43-19 in an entertaining match played in front of a near 70,000 crowd to mark the Islanders' centenary.

It was a match played in great spirit, with both teams exhibiting the running rugby craved by the Twickenham supporters, and some of the game's greats showcasing their silky handling and offensive prowess.

A scrappy opening five minutes was quickly overcome by a wonderful 80 metre try from the Fijians.  Fly-half Seremai Bai chipped over the flat Barbarians defence for Glasgow Warriors full-back Niko Matawalu.

The onrushing Matawalu gathered and danced his way round several defenders before offloading to Asaeli Tikoirotuma who cruised in under the posts to open the scoring.  Bai knocked over the simple conversion.

The Barbarians proceeded to dominate the next fifteen minutes, with virtually all the play inside the Fijian 22, and the Islanders infringing time and again.

Steve Hansen's side gained the upper hand in the set-piece, and efforts from Bismarck du Plessis and Matias Diaz were denied after referral to the TMO.

The Fijian defence — not unlike their sevens counterparts who so comprehensively outplayed New Zealand in Dubai earlier on Saturday — was aggressive and quick to pressure the Barbarians, but their resistance was finally broken when du Plessis powered over from close range.  Lambie failed with the conversion from out wide.

From the resultant kick-off, openside Mala Ravulo paid the price for his team's indiscipline, tackling an opponent in the air, and was shown a yellow card by Pascal Gauzere.

And despite the subsequent wave of pressure from the BaaBaas, Fiji held firm, and continued to look to play fast, high-tempo rugby.  They welcomed the flanker back onto the field with the scores still 7-5 in their favour.

But a quick tap on their own 22 proved to be their undoing, as the ball was spilled, and Springbok number eight Duane Vermeulen scooped up to stroll under the posts for one of Test rugby's more surreal tries.  Lambie, this time, could scarcely miss from straight in front, and added the extras for a 12-7 lead approaching half-time.

The BaaBaas still had time to build upon their lead, however, and a driving maul saw du Plessis barrel over for his second of the game, continuing the South African scoring theme.  Lambie's conversion drifted wide of the mark, and the teams went into the break with score 17-7 in favour of Hansen's charges.

Scrum-half TJ Perenara spilled the ball from the kick-off, but his pack bailed him out with a monstrous scrum against the head, catching the Fijians cold, and allowing substitute Willie le Roux to race away up the right-hand-side.

The break came to nothing when Frank Halai spilled possession, but the TMO was called for again as Perenara hacked through into the in-goal area, but the covering Sam Speight got hands to the ball before Vermeulen.

Du Plessis' last act was a powerful burst up the left touchline, but the tries kept coming for the BaaBaas.

A cross-kick from le Roux found All Black Charles Piutau on the 22, who spun beautifully out of one tackle before cutting inside to touch down under the posts, and kill off any lingering hopes of a Fijian comeback.

Just three minutes later, a break and offload from the outstanding Steven Luatua released Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers to dot down in the corner.  Lambie made the touchline conversion to bring the scores to 31-7.

With the game well out of sight, the Barbarians turned on the style with some considerable aplomb, and notched what proved to be the try of the day.

Glorious offloads from le Roux, de Villiers and Burger splintered the Fijian defence and had the crowd purring as Tom Taylor finished off in the corner.

The Twickenham supporters were brought to the feet again in the closing stages, as play swung from end to end, and possession changed hands time and again.

This time, it was the Fijians' power and handling abilities that won through, as Henry Seniloli finished off a great counter-attack.

Vermeulen was yellow-carded in the build-up for a nasty high tackle.

The BaaBaas thought they had the final say, when a delightful Lambie chip set up team-mate de Villiers to gather under the posts and bring up 40 points for the composite side.

But, fittingly on their centenary, Fiji broke away with the final score from Alex Rokobaro an fine end to a fine occasion.

Man of the match:  Plenty candidates for the Barbarians, with Matawalu sticking his hand up for the Islanders, but Steven Luatua gets my vote for a superb all-round performance.  Devastating in attack and defence, thriving in both the tight exchanges, and when the game began to break up.

Villain of the match:  No villains today, but Vermeulen's high shot was cynical and unnecessary late on.

Moment of the match:  Great tries all-round, but Piutau's fine gather, spin, and finish ended the match as a contest.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Tries:  du Plessis 2, Vermeulen, Piutau, de Villiers 2, Taylor
Cons:  Lambie 4
Yellow Card:  Vermeulen

For Fiji:
Tries:  Tikoirotuma, Seniloli, Rokobaro
Cons: Bai 2
Yellow Card:  Ravulo

Barbarians:  15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Gavin Williams, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Mick O'Driscoll, 3 Matias Diaz, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Guillermo Roan, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Luke Whitelock, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 Willie le Roux.

Fiji:15 Nikola Matawalu, 14 Adriu Delai, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Sam Speight, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Sam Matavesi/Netani Talei, 6 Mala Ravulo, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Peni Ravai, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Jerry Naureure, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Sete Somoca, 19 Maku Koroiyadi, 20 Sam Matavesi/Netani Talei, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Waisea Luveniyali, 23 Alex Rokobaro.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)

Wales beaten again by Australia

Australia continued their dominant run over Wales with a sublime, exhausting 30-26 victory in the final Test of the year in Cardiff.

It could only ever be agonisingly close, such has been the nature of the battles between these two in recent times.

It came down to the simple matter of whether Wales were good enough to finally win.  With territory and possession five minutes from the finish and only four points down, the chance was there and then destroyed.

In the end Australia found that extra gear.  The acceleration in intensity after going 16-10 down was breathtaking — tries from Israel Folau and Joe Tomane flipping the match on it's head and leaving Wales to chase their way back in.

It was an absolute thriller;  no question.  Take your pick for a standout moment from a pre-Christmas treat littered with them served up under the roof of the Millennium Stadium.

Ireland's noble effort against New Zealand a week ago had seen them playing above their level, but this was a contest between two evenly-matched teams full of running and bruising force that surged and subsided one way and then the other.  There is no love lost between Wales and Australia, that is for sure.

Perhaps it was the lack of scrums in the first half that resulted in such a high level of magnificent entertainment.  It certainly meant that the absence of Adam Jones for Wales was not as dear as predicted.

The Wallabies were ruthless.  Last week against Scotland chances slipped away and the scoreboard failed to reflect the gulf between the two teams but here, against a rival, they endlessly tore up Shaun Edwards' defensive system.

It was Wales though who struck first.  North pounced on a rare lackadaisical mistake from Adam Ashley-Cooper to hack on and then finish in the left corner, sending the Millennium Stadium into raptures.  It was an omen.  It left you breathless.

Quade Cooper marked his 50th cap for Australia with a world-leading performance.

His reverse pass around the back will be his legacy, mimicked in backyards around the world on Sunday, and it came off twice — first for Christian Leali'ifano's equalising try and then creating a chance on a silver platter for Will Genia that the scrum-half left behind.

Leigh Halfpenny's boot faltered only once in the first half, a penalty pinging back off the post but his other two efforts were successful.  Added to an attempt from Dan Biggar, Wales were 16-10 ahead.

Israel Folau though had other plans.  First he was brilliantly denied in the far corner by Scott Williams with a try-saving tackle, with Biggar heading to the bin from the resulting ruck.

But despite monstrous tackles from first North and then Richard Hibbard, Folau cruelly bounced off Mike Phillips and powered through two more tacklers to snatch the try — standing over his victims with the air of a world champion boxer.  By scoring he levelled Lote Tuqiri's Wallaby record of ten tries in a single Test year.

It sling-shotted the Wallabies into the lead following Leali'ifano's conversion, Australia up 17-16 at half-time.

There was to be no second half let up in intensity.  Australia sniffed blood and pummeled the Welsh defensive front through breaks from Nick Cummins and Cooper to leave the home side scuttling backwards.

Leali'ifano added a penalty before Tomane added the Wallabies third try — following close consultation with the TMO over the final pass.  It created a chorus of boos but the more alarming aspect for Wales were the 20 unanswered points added by Australia to put them in the driving seat.

Wales grew desperate, the next score all but deciding the result at 30-16 down.  Liam Williams did his part by racing away down the left touchline, but the Wallabies prowess at the breakdown was too much as they scrambled to safety.

North though was not done.  The Northampton wing flew through Scott Fardy's tackle attempt and then had the power to outmuscle Folau to go in under the posts and drag Wales back within seven points.

Driven by hope and that burning fire to finally put one over the Wallabies, Wales turned to their bench and their pack to suck away the wide channels for Australia.

Three points came after Ben Mowen's indiscretion at the breakdown as the oxygen disappeared ahead of another typically tight finish in this fixture.

Cooper's yellow card then gave Wales the impetus, the fly-half binned for an early tackle as the clock ticked away.

It came down to a tapped penalty for Wales in their own half, the length of the pitch to run in order to finally break that losing streak.  It was a task too far, bringing a pulsating Test match to a close.

Man of the Match:  Quade Cooper's tribute was already written until he was harshly yellow carded.  But he was so good that he still takes this award.  Sensational throughout.  George North a close second.

Moment of the Match:  With a line-out in the Australian 22, Wales sought to deploy their famous 12-man maul but the execution was off and a huge chance wasted.

Villain of the Match:  Despite the sin-binnings of Cooper and Biggar, there was nothing nasty here.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North 2
Cons:  Halfpenny, Biggar
Pens:  Halfpenny 2, Biggar, Priestland
Yellow Card:  Biggar

For Australia:
Tries:  Leali'ifano, Folau, Tomane
Cons:  Leali'ifano 3
Pens:  Leali'ifano 3

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Scott Williams, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Liam Williams.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Dave Dennis, 21 Nic White, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Bernard Foley.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland, John Lacey (both Ireland)

Fiji power past Romania

Fiji ended Romania's unbeaten run in 2013 on Saturday with a 26-7 victory at Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest.

After losing narrowly to Italy last week, Fiji, who led 16-7 at half time, outscored their hosts three tries to one.

The Islanders' three tries came from Metuisela Talebula, Nemani Nadolo and Timoci Nagusa, with Romania replying through a penalty try.

The scorers:

For Romania:
Try:  Penalty try
Con:  Vlaicu

For Fiji:
Tries:  Talebula, Nadolo, Nagusa
Con:  Bai
Pens:  Bai 2, Nadolo
Yellow card:  Nadolo

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Ionut Dumitru, 13 Catalin Dascalu, 12 Csaba Gal, 11 Florin Ionita, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Valentin Calafeteanu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Alexandru Mitu, 5 Marius Sirbe, 4 Valentin Poparlan, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Constantin Pristavita, 18 Horatiu Pungea, 19 Alin Coste, 20 Dorin Lazar, 21 Florin Surugiu, 22 Stephan Hihetah, 23 Cristian Dinis.

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Serenaia Bai, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Malakai Ravulo, 5 Apisai Naikatini, 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Setefano Somoca, 2 Seremaia Namaralevu, 1 Jereremaia Yanuyanutawa.
Replacements:  16 Peni Ravai, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Sam Matavesi, 20 Nemani Nagusa, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Waisea Luveniyali, 23 Malakai Bakaniceva.

Venue:  Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Referee:  Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Perfect year for All Blacks

New Zealand made history on Sunday as a late converted try saw them beat Ireland 24-22 at the Aviva Stadium, ending the year with 14 wins from 14.

It was an incredible 80 minutes of rugby that reminded us why we love this sport so much.

Played on a pitch light-years ahead of some of its northern hemisphere rivals, Ireland and the All Blacks put on an outstanding spectacle in Dublin that had everyone captivated from start to finish.

And boy did this one go down to the wire as New Zealand, down 17-22 with time up on the clock, finally managed to bust the green wall through replacement Ryan Crotty before Aaron Cruden added the match-winning touchline conversion.

It will be a defeat that particularly hurts Ireland as they spurned a chance to move eight points clear in the closing stages, but Jonathan Sexton pushed a penalty inches wide of the upright.

Blowing a 0-19 advantage is going to sting.

Ireland had came out of the blocks in devastating fashion as they took on the All Blacks three gears up from last weekend's opening efforts against the Wallabies.

New Zealand were immediately rocked backwards as the hosts scored those 19 points in as many minutes, with Conor Murray, Rory Best and Rob Kearney crossing the try-line.

The first score came inside four minutes when the scrum-half - recalled to the side in place of Eoin Reddan - barged over after good build-up play from the Irish.  However, there was some doubt over whether he grounded the ball but TMO Graham Hughes deemed it a try.

Sexton added the extras but Ireland weren't done there and promptly went over again in the tenth minute when hooker Best finished a move he started by crossing on the right side.  With Sexton's extra two points the hosts were 0-14 up as the All Blacks attempted to catch their breath.  Dublin was rocking as Ireland took the game to the world champions.

New Zealand did recover somewhat and enjoyed some semblance of possession for the ensuing minutes but when Israel Dagg fumbled a pass on the right wing, 20 metres from the Irish line, the grateful Kearney gathered and set off for a foot race to the whitewash.

Finally this appeared to spark the flat All Blacks into putting together some fluent running rugby, which produced a try in the 26th minute of the game, certainly against the run of play.

Cruden spotted a huge gap behind the Irish defence, chipped through and Savea, who was unmarked on the wing, ran onto the ball to touch down with the conversion making it 7-19.

The Irish, though, were not deflated by that in the least and stormed back deep into All Black territory, only prevented from scoring by some gritty defence and were eventually rewarded with a penalty which Racing-Metro fly-half Sexton slotted over for a 7-22 advantage.

The Irish came out fired up for the second-half but it was their defence that held up as Dagg thought he had got over in the 50th minute only for Murray to be judged to have held him up.

However, impressive Irish lock Devin Toner handed Cruden an easy three points, for 10-22, as he obstructed loosehead Wyatt Crockett when the Irish were about to clear their lines.

Cruden, though, missed an opportunity to cut the deficit further with a long range penalty as the rampaging O'Brien attracted the ire of referee Nigel Owens, who was superb on the day.

Nevertheless, the All Blacks started to really test the Irish resilience and with 15 minutes remaining they went over through replacement prop Ben Franks and Cruden made it 17-22.

However, the indomitable spirit of the Irish shone as they drew on their last dregs of energy, pressuring the All Blacks into conceding a penalty which Sexton took an age over, but to gasps of disbelief he sent it wide of the posts.  An eight-point lead had gone begging.

The costliness of that miss was laid bare in the final remarkable passage of play by the All Blacks as replacement centre Crotty went over in the corner and Cruden, at the second time of asking because of encroachment, slotted over the conversion to achieve that unlikely win.

Man of the match:  We go for Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip, who was everywhere.  Mentions too for Gordon D'Arcy, Devin Toner, Paul O'Connell and Sean O'Brien while New Zealand's star man was Sam Whitelock, with Beauden Barrett impressing off the bench.

Moment of the match:  It's hard on Jonathan Sexton but missing that late penalty came back to haunt the Irish.  It handed New Zealand a sniff and that was all they needed.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report on a great surface and day for rugby.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Murray, Best, Kearney
Con:  Sexton 2
Pen:  Sexton

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, B Franks, Crotty
Con:  Cruden 3
Pen:  Cruden

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 David Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Kevin McLaughlin, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ben Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ryan Crotty.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  J駻e Garc鑚 (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)
Assessor:  Donal Courtney (European Rugby Cup)